Colorado announced no major roster moves following their bowl game, but the Buffaloes face their biggest test yet in the Deion Sanders era.
Coach Prime transformed CU from a one-win program in 2022 to nine regular season wins in 2024. The question now is whether Colorado can maintain that success without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.
FS1 host and Colorado alum Joel Klatt isn’t sure they can.
Klatt believes the Buffaloes could just as easily finish 4-8 as 9-3 next season. The outcome depends entirely on how well Colorado replaces Shedeur Sanders with either Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter or four-star freshman Julian Lewis.
“They’ve recruited at a real high-level and brought in two quarterbacks, Kaidon Salter, a quarterback who transferred in from Liberty, I believe it was. And Julian Lewis, JuJu Lewis, who decommitted from USC and now is at Colorado. Deion has done a really great job, whether it’s been in the portal or high school recruiting, to reload,” Klatt said to Colin Cowherd on “The Herd.”
The Big 12’s depth makes predictions even harder.
“Could Colorado be a four-win team? Maybe. Could they be a nine-win team? Maybe. This conference is just so deep and bunched together with a lot of quality programs.”
Klatt’s uncertainty carries weight. He correctly predicted Colorado’s Big 12 Championship contention before the 2024 season when few others believed in the Buffaloes.
Last July, Klatt forecasted exactly what happened. He said Colorado could win eight games and double their win total from 2023.
The Buffaloes exceeded even those expectations.
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy. Shedeur Sanders set nearly every single-season passing record in program history.
Now Sanders faces his biggest coaching challenge. He’s never proven he can win without elite quarterback play from his son.
Salter completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,648 yards and 29 touchdowns at Liberty last season. Lewis was the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2025 recruiting class before flipping from USC to Colorado.
Both bring talent, but neither brings the familiarity Sanders had with his son running the offense.
The 2025 season will determine whether Sanders built a sustainable program or simply maximized two generational talents. Critics have questioned whether his success represents genuine coaching ability or just "Daddy Ball."
Colorado’s recruiting momentum suggests the program has staying power. Sanders continues landing highly-rated transfers and high school prospects despite losing his two biggest stars.
The Big 12 landscape works in Colorado’s favor. The conference lacks a dominant program, creating opportunities for any team with solid quarterback play and coaching.
Klatt’s measured optimism reflects the reality facing Colorado. They’ve built something real in Boulder, but maintaining excellence without Hunter and Shedeur Sanders represents uncharted territory for Coach Prime.
